The Definition of Normal
by Jaimie-Lannister
Summary: SPOILERS FOR BLOOD OF OLYMPUS. Summary in first chapter to avoid spoiling anything! :)


**Summary: A demigod's life rarely fits into mortal society's idea of normality. For the seven and their friends, normal has just become that much harder to obtain. They'll never be able to forget or abandon their past, so they might as well carry it with them. They conquered Mother Earth, and now it's time for them to sort out their lives and feelings and work towards creating their own definition of 'normal.' **

**I**

**LEO**

Leo's heart pounded in his chest as he shuffled through the woods. He didn't want to run, as he would definitely trip in the darkness, but he was anxious to see his friends again.

He and Calypso had ridden Festus all of the way to Camp Half-Blood. He had decided that it was the best place to repair his metal beast, but his longing to declare himself alive may have also swayed his decision. Calypso didn't care, though, as long as she got away from that island. Festus had landed sloppily, crushing a dozen or so trees. Leo found the entrance to Bunker 9 and discovered that it have been broken into and raided ‒ only things were mostly just thrown around rather than actually taken. The culprits must have had no clue what most of Leo's stuff was.

"Stay here until the sun comes up," he had told Calypso, "Then go and find Chiron. He runs the camp. There are harpies that wander around camp and eat anyone who's not in their cabin at night, so I'm going to wait until sunrise to find Piper and Jason. In the meantime, I'm going to run to the Hephaestus cabin and take a shower."

"Good. I didn't want to say anything but…" She had stepped backwards to show her distaste.

He had rolled his eyes. "See you at breakfast."

Now he was slipping through the forest. He finally reached the actual camp. Now he just had to avoid the cleaning harpies. It would really suck if he died again. He came to the bright pink Aphrodite cabin and it took everything in him to not knock on the door or tap on Piper's window. He wanted to see his friends moderately less than he wanted them to risk ending up midnight snacks. Besides, he also needed to retrieve some concept of time since neither of his companions, being a metal dragon and a former resident of a timeless island, had any clue. It would be helpful to know how long he'd been dead and what time of night it was.

Luckily, he snuck into the Hephaestus cabin without a fuss. His eyes scanned over Nyssa and the rest of his siblings. He longed for some shut eye but headed towards the bathroom. He saw that they hadn't cleared his things yet. That means he couldn't have been gone too long, right? His eyes found Christopher's alarm clock. 5:23. That gave him roughly an hour before the sun came up. He reached into his tool belt and pulled out a flashlight. He covered up the lens and cracked his hand open just enough to let out a thin stream of light. He tiptoed over to the calendar Nyssa had hanging. September 7th was crossed out. He was dead for over a _month._ It was a chilling thought but he guessed it was better than waking up in the year 3000.

He walked into the bathroom so he could process this information while having hot water pour over his body. He had found that hot showers always help get those brain juices flowing. This particular morning was a prime example. A realization struck him – if September 7th was crossed out, it must be September 8th. Piper's birthday. And he had the perfect present (other than, well, his resurrection from the dead).

Once he was sure he had scrubbed off as much soot and death as possible, he shut off the water. As he reached for a towel he heard a voice say, "Who the hell is taking a shower at five thirty in the morning?" Leo recognized the voice as Shane's. Silence followed, which Leo assumed was his brother realizing that all of his siblings were still in bed. Other than, you know, the dead one.

"Who are you?" Shane called out. He was starting to wake the others. One of them asked him what was going on and he answered, "We have an intruder." In a louder voice he said, "Just come out already."

Leo had just finished pulling on his clothes, so he did. He waltzed out into the gazes of his brothers and sisters and took in the shock on their faces. "What's wrong, _mis hermanos_? You look like you've seen a ghost."

His siblings bombarded him with questions. _What happened? Didn't you die? How are you alive? When did you get here? How? Why didn't you come sooner? Are you staying?_

He shrugged off their questions. "What happens in the Underworld, stays in the Underworld." He gave them a wink. He felt that was sufficient enough to get his point across. They'd never get any more of answer out of him.

"I don't know how long I'll stay or how often I'll come back once I leave, which is the main reason that I'm officially resigning from head counselor." He didn't know where his future would take him. He still needed to figure that out. Maybe it would bring him back here, to Camp Half Blood. Maybe it would leave him halfway across the Earth.

He stood up from the edge of his bed and walked towards the door. The sun was peeking out from the horizon. "I have to go talk to Piper and Jason. But first," he told his cabin, "Do any of you guys have wrapping paper? My tool belt doesn't supply it."

Leo rushed over to the next cabin and ran right up to its disgustingly pink door. He tapped on the door repeatedly. "Piper!" he called, "Piper, who's your favorite demigod to die and come back to life?"

The door flew open. Piper stood there for a moment with tears brimming her eyes. Then she nailed him in the stomach.

"Damn, I thought it'd be Hazel," she said with a fake sigh.

He winced. "Ouch, that hurts," he joked. His expression then became serious for the first time in years. "I'm sorry, Piper," he told her, and it was genuine. He could see the pain he'd caused her.

She flung her arms around him, finally letting the tears flow. "I hate you, Leo. I hate you for what you did."

He spared his friends physical harm by giving them emotional pain. He felt like he had gotten it easy. Death hurt, sure, it hurt _a lot._ But it was temporary. It lasted minutes. The pain of grief is never-ending, and Leo knew from experience that it was worse than death. He said the only thing he thought he could.

"I know.

**A/N: This chapter is kinda short but I want to switch POVs at this point. Don't expect this to be too long, it may just become a series of one shots. I hope this wasn't too bad! :) **


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